1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel coated pigments and extender pigments, particularly novel coated material in a finely pulverized (powdered) state, that is novel coated pigments and extender pigments, usable for cosmetics, and novel cosmetics containing the coated pigments and extender pigments.
More particularly, it relates to the pigments and extender pigments, coated with a mixture comprising at least 14 acylated amino acids or salts, with the amino acids being obtainable from or obtained on total hydrolysis of any one of animal proteins, such as silk and pearl, and plant proteins, such as wheat and soybeans, and cosmetics containing such pigments and extender pigments. The pigments and extender pigments, coated with a mixture comprising at least 14 acylated amino acids, wherein said amino acid may be in the salt form in one or more of 14 amino acids, presents extremely smooth feeling and exhibits superior cohesion to skin and hair (biocompatibility), so that cosmetics comprising the pigments and extender pigments is retained to be highly promising as cosmetics exhibiting these desirable properties.
2. Description of the Related Art
The pigments and extender pigments, added to cosmetics, especially inorganic pigments, are poor in its ability to spread (spreadability), hard and heavy (coarse), that is devoid of elasticity, and present a dragging feeling, thus giving physical irritation to the skin. Moreover, since it is inorganic, it exhibits poor affinity to skin. Meanwhile, good affinity to the skin means having light touch on the skin and favorable feeling to the skin. For overcoming these defects, a number of types of coated pigments and extender pigments, that is surface-processed pigments and extender pigments, has been proposed. For example, there are so far known a number of different methods, such as a method of surface-coating with ester oils, metal soap, lecithin, silicone oil or perfluoro alkyl oil, or a method of coating with a sole acylated amino acid or an acylated form of a polypeptide, which is a polymer of the amino acid see Japanese Patent Kokai Publication JP-A-61-73775.